A new study led by researchers from the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences and WashU Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry at WashU Medicine offers a fresh warning to parents: If their kids are spending too much time engaging with media with mature themes, their mental health could be at risk. 

The study, published in the Journal of Early Adolescence, found higher rates of depression and suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children aged 8 to 12 who spend the most hours playing video games, watching videos, scrolling through social media, and generally spending time consuming media. 

The association between media use and mental health was especially strong when the games, videos, or streaming programs contained mature content such as violence, criminal behavior, or depictions of suicidal behavior. “Many previous studies had shown a link between total screen time and depression in children, but this is one of the first to specifically look at the potential impact of media with mature content,” said Alison Tuck, a graduate student in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences and the lead author of the study.

Other co-authors from the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences include Associate Professor Renee Thompson and Deanna Barch, the Gregory B. Couch Professor of Psychiatry. Two researchers from the Department of Psychiatry at WashU Medicine — Joan Luby, the Samuel and Mae S. Ludwig Chair in Psychiatry at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and Assistant Professor Laura Hennefield, PhD ’15— also contributed. Hennefield was the senior author of the paper. 

The study was funded by a National Institute of Mental Health grant to Barch and Luby through WashU Medicine.

With smartphones in their pockets and gaming consoles in their rooms, many children spend large portions of their day consuming media. Tuck and co-authors report that 90% of youth regularly engage with digital media, and those users spend an average of six hours a day watching, playing, or scrolling. 

The study involved 191 children ages 8 to 12 who completed surveys measuring media habits and mental health. About two-thirds of the children had been diagnosed with depression as preschoolers. Overall, children who watched the most media of any type were 45% more likely to meet the criteria for major depressive disorder. The links between media use and mental health were similar across children with and without preschool depression.

But some games, videos, and shows are more worrisome than others. Children who spent the most time watching media with mature content were 150% more likely to show signs of depression. 

“This was the most important and novel finding in the study,” Tuck said. “We can’t say for sure that engaging with mature content actually causes depression, but there’s clearly an association. If a parent notices that their child is consuming a lot of mature media, it’s something they should look into.”

Tuck pointed to several possible explanations for the association between depression and media with mature content. One possibility is that children who are already depressed may seek out edgy video games and movies to help regulate their emotions. But it’s also possible that depictions of crime or violence also trigger a stress response that makes depression more likely. “We’ll need more research to understand the directions of the cycle.” 

Importantly, the study also found that children who engage with suicide-related content in media are more likely to express suicidal thoughts and behavior. Again, it’s not possible to say that the video games or YouTube clips are driving the thoughts, said Hennefield, who studies suicidal ideation and behavior in children. But the association is something that parents should take seriously.

“Suicide is depicted in a lot of children’s shows,” Hennefield said. “There’s a scene at the beginning of ‘The Incredibles’ where a character is trying to jump from a window.” Such content may be generally harmless, but parents should be concerned if it seems that their children are actively seeking out suicide-related content, she said.

Another takeaway from the study is that too much time looking at media — regardless of content — seems to be unhealthy for young minds. “Our study echoes many previous findings that show an association between media exposure and depression,” Tuck said. One possible explanation is that spending hours in front of a screen reduces opportunities to play and socialize. 

Given the strong associations between screen time and mental health, it makes sense for parents to keep an eye on what — and how much — their kids are watching. “Banning all media or even all mature media isn’t really the answer,” Hennefield said. “Parents can put reasonable constraints on what their kids are watching and help them think about what they’re seeing.”

“One of the best things parents can do to help their kids navigate the digital world is just to have conversations with them,” Tuck said. “We call it active media monitoring. Parents can learn their kids’ perspectives and their motivations for watching particular content, and they can help kids understand the difference between what they see in media and reality.” 

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